Application Spotlight: Asian Eatery B. Bim Brightens Ambiance with Window Clings and Wall Graphics

Restaurant industry veterans can tell you: Décor, ambiance, and the overall dining experience are every bit as much a factor in whether or not guests will return as the food.

That’s why the B. Bim Asian Eatery in Chicago turned to Graphic Alliance, also based in the Windy City, and Mactac Distributor Products to add more than a touch of authentic flavor to the overall look of their fast-casual restaurant.

The two graphics-solutions companies, working in tandem, took on the challenge of invigorating the look of the popular Korean-inspired restaurant -- while simultaneously reflecting the authentic cuisine for which it has become so well known. And because foodservice facilities never rest, timing was of the essence.

Forging Partnerships with Restaurateurs

The planning for the project took place three weeks prior to the restaurant’s open date, according to Eric Grossman, CEO of Graphic Alliance. “We started at the end of November for a mid- to end-of-December opening.”

Graphic Alliance is a 19-year-old, full-service Chicago-based marketing firm specializing in print and digital media. Its services include graphic design, web design, digital marketing, printing, large-format printing, and vehicle wraps.

The company works with approximately 100 restaurants, Grossman explains, including Roti Modern Mediterranean and Real Urban BBQ. “Every owner is different, but producing great graphics with the proper installation has been the key to Graphic Alliance's success. It's a small industry, and quality work spreads fast.”

Largely as a result of the many relationships he has forged with restaurants in the area, Grossman also operates a nonprofit organization in Chicago called Love My Life Foundation. The group cooks and delivers food to a thousand homeless people in the Windy City every week, and reached the 43,000-meal milestone this past October.

Graphic Alliance’s senior designer Matt Gorske took on this project from scratch, while senior production manager Randy Falco handled the complete material and sign production. The three-stage installation project began on December 7 and took five days to complete.

Solving for Texture -- and Time

“The greatest challenge for Graphic Alliance was finding graphic solutions that worked for a variety of application surfaces,” says Jason Yard, marketing director for Mactac. “From windows to specialty brick walls, we needed to provide products that would help them achieve their vision, while offering the performance needed to endure a busy restaurant environment.”

Says Grossman: “We solved this with the expertise of my sales rep from Mactac, Ross Burnham. He immediately reviewed my project and came back with everything I needed to solve this problem, including what materials and laminates must be used for optimal success.”

The establishment’s round-the-clock operation posed another challenge: “Because the restaurant business never sleeps, we knew going into the project that it would be a challenge to install the graphics without interfering with the customers’ experience and daily business operations,” says Yard. In order to get their work done efficiently, the Graphic Alliance crew would typically not begin work until after 5 p.m.

Together, Graphic Alliance and Mactac teamed up to deliver a combination of solutions for the restaurant’s wall graphics, window graphics and specialty signage applications:

• Mactac's Rebel, a multi-print media designed for interior and exterior marking such as wall graphics and other signage, was used to house the entire B. Bim menu on one of the restaurant’s walls.
• To showcase the restaurant's menu items on an exterior window to appeal to potential customers passing by on the city sidewalks, Graphic Alliance utilized Mactac’s WindowVIEW CLING, designed for short-term advertisements on glass or other smooth surfaces like stainless steel.
• In order to display messaging throughout B. Bim’s brick interior walls, the team selected RoughRap, a 2.1-mil gloss white high-performance vinyl designed for application on brick walls and other rough-texture surfaces.
• And for the restaurant’s high-impact wall mural featuring the Chicago skyline, Graphic Alliance turned to Mactac’s Roodle, which features a removable adhesive ideal for wall murals and indoor and outdoor signage, and is designed for removable graphics printed to the edge.

Drawing Diners In

The result: superior graphics that draw diners into B. Bim Asian Eatery through what Grossman refers to as “vibrant, modern designs.” Plus, the interior graphics themselves become a topic of conversation for the restaurant’s customers once seated inside.

Grossman sees in this project a valuable lesson for everyone in the industry. “After 20 years in business, I will tell my colleagues to find the best company and stick with them. Only use the best materials. Print quality and installation go so much smoother when you invest in the right products.”

The project illustrates how easily a partnership can work when teaming up with “a graphics-solutions provider that offers a breadth of products,” adds Yard.

The most important part, says Grossman, is that B. Bim "couldn't be happier with the end product."